In today's society entry hall bathrooms, commonly referred to as "powder rooms," are increasing in popularity. Because they are used primarily by visitors to the home, powder rooms are generally smaller in square footage than a conventional bathroom and are typically furnished with only a toilet, sink and mirror. Despite their smaller size, powder rooms require the same number and kind of bathroom accessories and cleaning supplies as a conventional bathroom. At the same time, there is a resurgence in the use of "pedestal" style sinks that do not include an underneath cabinet, particularly in powder rooms. This may be due partly to their aesthetic attributes and partly to the fact that the openness of the pedestal sink creates the illusion that the powder room is larger than it really is. Regardless, the use of a pedestal sink further compounds the problem of storing the necessary number and kind of bathroom accessories and cleaning supplies in a bathroom that is already diminutive in size. As a result, homeowners have devised ingenious bathroom furnishings for storing unsightly bathroom accessories and cleaning supplies, including decorative chests, baskets, planters and footstools.
Although such furnishings often provide a space-saving and aesthetic solution, they are unsanitary. Toilet bowl plungers and toilet bowl brushes can harbor bacteria and can foster the growth of mold and mildew. After use, these accessories remain moist with residual water from the toilet. Accordingly, they are typically placed on a paper or cloth mat or in the sink until dry before they are placed in the bathroom furnishing for storage. This solution, however, is not only unsightly but is unsanitary as well, particularly in the small confines of the modem day powder room.
The present invention provides an aesthetically pleasing and covert means of storing bathroom accessories and cleaning supplies immediately after use. The residual water runs off the accessories and is collected, absorbed and disinfected in a catch basin. The prior art describes means by which to deodorize runoff toilet water from a toilet brush. There is no prior art, however, that addresses collecting the runoff toilet water, containing the runoff toilet water and disinfecting the inherent bacteria in the runoff toilet water. Nor does the prior art disclose a bathroom furnishing for storing a toilet plunger, toilet cleaning brush, rubber gloves, one or more rolls of toilet tissue and the like that covertly houses these bathroom accessories in a compact, concealed and sanitary manner.
Accordingly, it is a principle object of the present invention to provide a bathroom furnishing for storing bathroom accessories and cleaning supplies in a compact, concealed and sanitary manner.
It is a further, and more particular, object of the present invention to provide a decorative pedestal for compact, concealed and sanitary storage of a toilet plunger, toilet cleaning brush, rubber gloves, one or more rolls of toilet tissue and the like.
It is another, and still more particular, object of the invention to provide a decorative pedestal for storing bathroom accessories and cleaning supplies that includes a means for collecting the residual toilet water, containing the residual toilet water and disinfecting the inherent bacteria in the residual toilet water.